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Advent 2020 – 1 John 1:1-4 (Dec. 17)

The main truth of Advent is that in the Person of Jesus Christ, God took on humanity and came to earth to live among us. This is what the Apostle John could never get over. 

John is likely in his 80s when he wrote the verses in today’s Advent reading. He was living in Ephesus, where he’d resettled to avoid the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. Yet, elderly and far from home, John is filled with joy. Why? Because he got to live alongside Jesus Christ, listening to him, talking to him and touching him. God really came to the earth, and His desire was to hang out with and experience life as a human. 

John’s letter begins rather abruptly as he brings us into the experience he had when Jesus was with him and the other disciples. John wants us to share that experience with him, but he says it starts with us believing his eyewitness report. Both in John’s day and in our time, people deny that God really came and took on flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ. What advantage is there to deny that truth? Well, false teachers love the opportunity to lead people astray, and it also gives us a sense of freedom to sin that ultimately traps and destroys us. 

John says that God “was made manifest” (2), meaning He was revealed to be seen and known. God’s mission wasn’t hidden. The Messiah wasn’t concealed. He came to be known by his people and to know them. 

Ultimately, this is why we can have fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ: God took the initiative to live among us and rescue us from our sin. 

But God didn’t stop there. He didn’t go to all the trouble of taking on human flesh merely to take on human sin. Now, that was a massive, only-God-could-do-that thing, but He continued from there to personally come to each sinner, even now, who calls on Him by faith and fills them with joy. Where does that joy come from? It comes from the Word of Life Himself, Jesus, living in you. 

Even though John was old and Jesus had returned to heaven decades earlier, he still could not get over the wonder of what God had done through the Person of Jesus Christ. He was out to spread joy, so that all of us could be filled with joy along with him. A joy that doesn’t depend on the circumstances around us. A joy that doesn’t mean the same as the feeling of happiness. This is joy that defies circumstances and rises above feelings to give us deep, abiding joy – because Jesus dwells with us. 

 

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Advent 2020 – Luke 1:26-38 (Dec. 9)

Luke 1:31–33

[31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (ESV)

After several hundred years of silence, with Isaiah long in the presence of God, God spoke once again of the way forward. He announced the arrival of the long-awaited King!

We know the story of Mary, and how as a teenage virgin she became the mother of the Son of God. It’s an amazing story yet one that has become commonplace, especially in the advent season. So, take a moment and meditate on Mary’s experience of hearing the announcement from God and reclaim some of the amazement at God and His ways. 

Mary was a mere 14 years old by most accounts. She was espoused (similar to our modern-day engagement period) to a godly man named Joseph. She expected to marry, have children, and live a quiet life in her village of Nazareth. 

Yet, God looked upon her with grace, determined to include her in His plan to rescue the world. He sent to Mary the angel Gabriel, the same Gabriel who appeared to Zechariah months ago and hundreds of years earlier to the prophet Daniel. Gabriel announced the amazing news that God was sending His Son into the world. Who would this child be? 

Gabriel announced 5 things about God’s Son, whom he said must be named Jesus:

  1. He will be great
  2. He will be called the Son of the Most High
  3. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David
  4. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever
  5. Of his kingdom there will be no end

Any one of these is worth meditating on and marveling over. Think of how Mary felt hearing all this! Any one of these statements was enough to blow her away, but one after another she learns that the son to be in her womb would be like none other. No one would compare to His greatness. No one would be His equal, for He is the Son of the Most High. He will come from the line of Israel’s greatest king, but He will far exceed even King David. He would rule over Israel forever, and His kingdom would never end! Amazing news! News Israel had waited thousands of years to hear.

Most instructive for us is Mary’s response to this news. “I am your servant. Let it be to me according to your word.” 

We’ve discussed this week the way of the Lord – His plan to save the lost, and to usher in paradise. The way and the plan is Jesus. May we say with humble Mary, “Yes, Lord, I accept your way. I yield to your terms of Lordship over my life. Use me in your Kingdom however you see fit.”

 

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Advent 2020 – Micah 5:1-5 (Dec. 3)

These daily devotional readings accompany the Advent at Home guide prepared by the West Park Prayer Ministry Team. If you haven’t already, download the advent scripture reading schedule here.

Micah 5:1-5

1 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.

2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.

4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

5 And he shall be their peace.

2020 has been a year of bad news. Coronavirus, riots, a divided union, leadership struggles – these things have hit us hard.

701 B.C. was a year of bad news in Judah. The prophet Micah sounded the alarm, “Siege is laid against us; muster your troops!” Very soon the violent nation of Assyria was coming to invade Judah, and the people of God would be scattered abroad as they were stolen from their homeland.

But no matter the year, when we turn to our God, we find Him faithful to all His promises. And that gives us hope.

God promised to besieged Judah that He would produce for Himself a ruler for Judah from the insignificant town of Bethlehem. This small town was the original hometown of Israel’s greatest king, David. God’s promise to David that he would always have a descendent of his on the throne in Israel would one day be fulfilled by a man who would be “great to the ends of the earth.” He would gather God’s people together and shepherd them in the strength of the LORD. For God’s people He would be “their peace.” And God’s people would forever dwell secure.

These are promises of hope. We remember them this advent time as they were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He is the descendent of David the king. And while He fulfilled many of the promises about the Messiah, some of these promises are yet to be fulfilled. But that is where we place our hope today. Just as God kept His promises in Micah’s day, He will keep His promises to us. We can count on Him, and our hope is secure and solid when we place it all on God’s promises. And while the world is not yet settled, and God’s people are not yet fully secure, we know that even now Jesus is our Peace. And whether it’s 701 B.C. or A.D. 2020, that’s the best news we could ever receive.

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Following Jesus Through Holy Week – Monday

Join me this week to read the gospel accounts that walk us through the final week of the Lord Jesus.

Here’s a helpful breakdown of what happened1 on Monday:

  • Jesus curses the fig tree (Matt. 21:18-19; Mark 11:12-14)
  • Jesus cleanses the temple (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-46)
  • Jesus returns to Bethany with His disciples (Mark 11:19

Let’s examine today what Mark recorded about these events.

Mark 11:12–19

[12] On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. [13] And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. [14] And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

[15] And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. [16] And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. [17] And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” [18] And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. [19] And when evening came they went out of the city. (ESV)

What must we learn from this text?

Most Bible teachers see the curse on the fig tree and the clearing of the Temple as related events. How do they relate? Consider first that Jesus was hungry and looked for fruit on the fig tree. On first reading this you may think that it’s strange for anyone to look for figs when Mark says it wasn’t the season for figs. However, when Jesus saw the leaves on the tree from a distance, He knew that when fig leaves appear, so too appears the green figs. That’s true of fig trees: the appearance of leaves should be accompanied by the first figs. He curses the tree and travels down the Kidron Valley and up into Jerusalem.

Jesus clears the Temple for the same essential reason that he cursed the fig tree: He finds no fruit among the worshippers. Worship has become a means to get money, not get God. Those charged with leading and shepherding people to God were actually preventing them from God. Jesus says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations… but you have made it a den of robbers!”

Here’s what we should consider on this Monday:

  • Jesus expects fruit from His people. He has the right to demand the fruit of worship and prayer from my life.
  • Let each of us consider: am I truly seeking God and helping others do the same? Or am I content with religious activity that centers on man?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, how much You desired to see fruit come from Your people that Passover week so long ago. You are worthy, wonderful King of receiving the gifts of Your people. All they were and had then, and all we are and have now, should be the praise of Your great Name. Forgive us for how we have lived for ourselves. Help us by Your Spirit to bring fruit to You today.

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1. Crossway is currently offering free access to their ESV Study Bible. To access the Harmony of the Holy Week Chart, simply sign up for that resource, and even more, from Crossway.